The Adventures of Space Monkey
by Vicki595
Summary: Daniel's back, and is trying to readjust to live on Earth


**The Adventures of Space Monkey**

  
  
  
  
**TITLE:** "The Adventures of Space Monkey"   
**AUTHOR:** Vicki   
**EMAIL:** little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com   
**CATEGORY:** Humour   
**SPOILERS:** "Within the Serpent's Grasp", and the **big** news for the **start** of Season 7 (ie the fact that Daniel's back!)   
RATING: PG-13   
**PAIRING:** Sam/Jack UST, Daniel/Janet UST   
**SUMMARY:** Daniel's back, and is trying to readjust to live on Earth   
**STATUS:** Complete   
**ARCHIVE:** Heliopolis yes, danandjan yes. All others ask first please   
**DISCLAIMER:** All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.   
**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The title just struck me, and I had to write this! I'm going to apologise in advance, and blame everything that I seem to end up inhaling in chemistry for this!   
  
  


"Good to have you back, Space Monkey." Jack grinned as he clasped Daniel on the back before heading to his room. Daniel looked after his friend in amazement, wondering where the hell that had come from. The only time Jack had ever called him that, as far as Daniel knew, had been a good five years ago after they had killed Apophis for the first time. Jack had never elaborated on **why** he had felt it necessary to call him that, and Daniel had thought it best not to ask. 

Shaking his head in bewilderment, he looked around the semi-darkened room, illuminated mainly by the flickering firelight. Only he and Janet were still there, as Teal'c had long retired to Jack's spare room to kel'nor'reem, or something, and Sam had hauled herself out her armchair a few minutes previously, announcing that she was going to use the bathroom. Janet had fallen asleep curled up in the second armchair, her half-drunk glass of wine on the floor beside her. The dancing flames illuminated the red in her hair, and Daniel smiled to see her so peaceful. He picked up the blanket draped over the back of the sofa and tenderly tucked it round her. Pausing, he leaned over her and gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. He had missed her during the past year, just as he had missed Jack, Sam, Teal'c and, to a lesser extent, General Hammond and the other members of the SGC. Straightening up, he stretched and yawned and started to head in the direction of Jack's bedroom to see if his friend had a spare blanket for him to sleep on the sofa with. He knocked, and Jack told him to come in, which he did. And stopped short when he saw Sam curled up, fast asleep in Jack's bed. 

"Uh, Jack. Is there something you're not telling me?" Daniel asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the sleeping Major. 

"What?" Jack looked surprised for a second, before he saw what Daniel was looking at. "Oh that. No, there's nothing to tell. She's been sleeping in my bed most of the year after nights like these. I used to sleep in the spare room, or in the living room, but she told me that we were being ridiculous. We were two grown adults, and should be able to share a king-sized bed. It's not that different from sharing a tent off world." He seemed a bit embarrassed as he looked down at his feet, before looking back at Daniel clearly asking 'What do you want?' 

"Right." Daniel wasn't convinced. He was pretty certain that he'd be unable to share a bed with Jan... uh, a woman he liked as much as Jack liked Sam, without doing **something**. But it wasn't any of his business, and even if they were now intimate they were hiding it pretty well, as this was the first indication he had seen. "Uh... I, uh, anyway. I came in to ask for a blanket or something. I've just tucked Janet up with the one from the back of the sofa." 

He blushed at the look Jack sent him. He was pretty sure that he had gotten drunk about three months before his ascension, and blabbed out his crush on Janet to Jack, who hadn't teased him, which was why he had been unsure. But that look told him everything; he had, and like it said in the greeting cards, absence **did** make the heart grow fonder. But he still wasn't going to say anything to the petite doctor about his feelings any time soon. 

"Yeah, just take the cover off the spare bed. If you're quiet you won't disturb Teal'c too much. I would tell you to sleep in that and lay the doc down on the sofa, but it's not made up and one night in the armchair won't kill her," Jack replied, as he finished getting ready for bed by pulling his white T-shirt over his head. He replaced it with an old tatty one, which proclaimed "United States Air Force" across the front, and tossed the other one across the room straight into the wash-basket. "Good **night**, Daniel, close the door behind you and don't forget to turn off the hall light." 

Jack extinguished his bedside lamp as he clambered into bed, and Daniel left him to sleep. He closed the door and heading to the spare room, where Teal'c, surrounded by dozens of candles, was meditating at the bottom of the bed. Daniel wasn't sure why Teal'c continued with his kel'nor'reem now that Junior was gone, but hadn't dared suggest to his Jaffa friend that he should try sleeping instead. Creeping in, Daniel claimed the cover and returned to the living room, where the last embers of the fire were dying out. Now the hall light and the small reading light by Sam's armchair were off, the pale red in the fireplace looked brighter than it had previously been. Aside from the occasional sounds from the fire and outside, the only other noise was Janet's steady breathing. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Daniel could see the shape of her curled up there. She was going to be terribly stiff in the morning, and the fleeting idea of offering her a massage crossed his mind. Instead, he wrapped himself in his covers, and tried to make himself comfortable on Jack's sofa. There was something hard underneath the cushion he was using as a pillow, and pulling it out he realised it was a book although it was too dark to see the cover. He gently placed it on the floor, not wanting to disturb his companion. He laid his head back down, and sighed in satisfaction as he closed his eyes. Now, as long as he didn't dream of Janet, as he had done ever since his return, things would be good.   
  


* * * * *

  


When he woke up early the next morning, he was slightly disorientated and had no idea where he was. "Janet?" he mumbled into the cushion, still clinging to the last fragments of his dream. Turning his head so he could see Jack's fireplace, which was illuminated by the early daylight streaming in through the large bay windows, he realised where he was. Then, upon realising what his first word had been, and who had been sleeping in the armchair the previous night, sat bolt upright. She was still there; all curled up, and as far as he could tell, still asleep. Daniel ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair, which was sticking out in all directions, before stretching his arms above his head. Parts of his body clicked, and he wondered if this was his body's way of telling him that he was getting too old to be sleeping on sofas. Again, he wondered how Janet's body would feel after she woke up that morning, before his treacherous mind started to wander and contemplate how Janet's body would feel underneath his hands. He mentally slapped himself and, as he was unable to keep his eyes, or his mind off her, tried to find something else around the room to concentrate on. The book on the floor, which he had placed there the previous night, caught his eye, and picking it up, frowned as he read the title _"One Universe. At Home in the Cosmos."_ He had no idea that Jack read anything like that, and opening the front cover noticed the inscription. 

_"Well, we know there's more than one universe (!), but it's a good read anyway. Just can't make us forget the alternate universes though. Carter."_ His eyes widened. Since when did Sam write things like that to Jack? Daniel frowned. Maybe Jack had been lying to him when he said that his relationship with Sam was purely platonic. But, if he had, Daniel wasn't going to say anything to anyone. He briefly flicked through the pages, understanding about one word in ten. Boring quickly, he placed it carefully back on the floor and looked around for something to do. After spending a year floating around the galaxy doing almost anything he wanted, the constraints of mortal life had already begun to annoy him. Having seen so much, he felt restricted, and Jack had just laughed when he'd briefly forgotten and attempted to walk though the wall. Janet had been much more sympathetic, but Daniel could see the amusement sparkling in her eyes. She had kept him in the infirmary overnight just to be on the safe side, but he hadn't minded, as he was able to indulge in his new favourite sport: Janet-watching. 

Jonas had dropped by to keep him company for an hour or so, and they had discussed Jonas' experiences on SG-1 over the past year. The alien had understood Daniel's desire to rejoin his old team, and assured him that there were no hard feelings. He wasn't going to be reassigned to a specific team as such. Instead, he would go along with whichever team Hammond decided needed his presence for a mission. This had meant that he hadn't been able to join SG-1 and Janet at Jack's house the previous night, as he had been appropriated by SG-7 for their mission to P4X-719 and wasn't due back until later that evening. Daniel had been sorry that Jonas couldn't make it, although it had been nice having everything the same as before he had gone away - minus Junior of course. 

Daniel reached for the television remote, which was lying on the coffee table, and flicked on the TV, ensuring that the sound was low enough not to disturb the still sleeping Janet. Commercials were currently showing, and Daniel couldn't help but wonder if they'd got even more stupid in his year away. Checking his watch he silently groaned when he saw that it was only 6:35 am. Another advantage of ascension had been no early mornings, but as he hadn't needed to sleep anyway, that was pretty much a moot point. 

Settling back, he wondered what exactly a rabbit had to do with breakfast cereal, and if these commercials actually worked. He remembered seeing one a good few years back, advertising some car or another. He couldn't remember the car, but he remembered that the boy in the car had a strawberry ice cream cone, and it had always made him want strawberry ice cream. He didn't suppose that counted as working! Next up was a bumper ad, showing some hideously drawn cartoon, and Daniel hoped that whatever was on next wasn't as badly animated as that. He much preferred the Disney style animation, and briefly wondered what had become of some of his collection. Although he had found the majority of his belongings in storage, there had been some things missing. Jack had confessed to "borrowing" a few bits and pieces, but Daniel couldn't see him sitting down to watch _"The Little Mermaid"_ or _"Cinderella."_ _"Toy Story"_ - yes, but Jack already had his own copy. 

However, this cartoon starting now fortunately seemed to be one of the decently drawn ones - perhaps a new one from Disney. Although he would never confess to it, when at home, he would watch things like _"Recess"_ or _"Pepper Ann"_ if he turned the TV on and they were on. 

The title of the show flashed up, and Daniel, reading it, sat up straight and exclaimed "What?" loud enough for Janet to stir in her corner. But for once, Daniel ignored her as he stood up, threw the covers off his lap and marched straight into Jack's room. 

Throwing the door open and snapping on the bright light, his brain failed to register the sight of Jack wrapped around Sam, looking like anything but platonic friends. Like the good Air Force officers they were, the bright light and sound of the door slamming against the wall was enough to wake them both. However, Sam just buried her head underneath the pillow in an attempt to block out the light and get some more sleep. Jack groaned, glanced at the clock, and raising his head, looked up at the younger man standing in his doorway. "What is it Daniel?" he asked, shading hi eyes from the light. "What do you deem so important that it's enough to wake me up at six-forty in the morning? And don't tell me I'm out of coffee - there's some in the third cupboard from the sink." 

"I just switched the TV on, and guess what I saw?" Daniel replied. 

"Uh, commercials?" Jack guessed, too tired to care as he let his head drop back down onto the pillow. "The new brand that's out at the moment is identical to regular coffee. It's tried and tested." 

Daniel looked confused briefly, before returning to his original subject. "How about a new kid's cartoon?" He suggested, certain that Jack knew what he was about to bring up. 

"There are plenty of them Daniel, especially at this hour when only kids and **insane** people are up," Jack pointed out, conveniently ignoring the fact that he was often up at this hour providing he hadn't had people over, and lots to drink the night before. 

"But one called "_The Adventures of Space Monkey_"?" 

He could have sworn he's heard a giggle coming from underneath Sam's pillow.   
  


* * * * *

  
  
The end!! 


End file.
